The all-mahogany 01 is a new addition to the Collings line, but it has already earned a reputation here at the shop as one the best sounding guitars they build. Don't let the small size fool you; this is a firecracker of a guitar with a surprising amount of punch and power in its little body. It responds immediately the light touch of a fingerpicker but you can also get a lot of volume out of it with a flatpick. This is a great guitar for playing old-time music and it sounds particularly fine in the company of open-back banjos and oval hole mandolins. The standard 01 sounds very good but when built to Traditional specs, it really comes alive.

About the Collings Traditional Series

The secret behind the great tone of the Traditional Series isn’t really much of secret. The trick is that Collings has revived some of the more labor intensive techniques that builders used back in the 1930s and 1940s, the decade we consider the Golden Era of American guitar making.

The Collings Traditional Series of guitars differ from their standard models in a numbers of ways. One of the the most important is the use of animal protein glue. When this glue sets it dries to a very hard, almost brittle consistency that many luthiers and players feel transmits string vibrations more faithfully than more modern resin adhesives, which even when dry are slightly elastic.

Other important changes include the use of lighter, stiffer wood in the tops and bracing; a thinner all-nitrocellulose lacquer finish with no UV-cure filler or undercoats; no flat brace (sometimes called “tongue brace”) under the end of the fingerboard; and bridges with a through-cut saddle. The neck shapes also have more rounded fingerboard edges and a vintage-inspired profile and taper. While these guitars are not "distressed" or artificially worn to make them appear like an older instrument, both the sound and the feel of these Traditional Series Collings models achieve a more "broken-in" impression for the player, and the listener.